October 2001: America starts bombing Afghanistan; Apple launches the iPod; and Sonic, a chain of drive-in restaurants, launches its first national ad campaign.

Since then, we've won the war on terror and the iPod has proven itself a passing fad -- but Sonic's commercial onslaught continues.

The problem? There are no Sonics around here. According to the Sonic Web site, the nearest one is almost 100 miles away.

This wouldn't be a problem if the ads didn't make Sonic look so freaking tasty.

"Hey!" says the Sonic ad. "Check out this delicious chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream thing that you will never be able to get because there isn't a Sonic in your area! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha HA! [Snort]."

Like an East German in 1988, I was forced by circumstance to live on the wrong side of the wall and dream about a world where I could drive my car, which I didn't have to put myself on a three-year waiting list to get, to a restaurant where I could spend my capitalist money on some köstliche Schokoladenkeks Eiscremesache.

Then again, there are many awesome things in this world that we're reminded every day that we can't have.

For example: the Segway Personal Transporter. Segways are awesome, and anyone who pretends otherwise is a fool. You know you want one. You want your friends and neighbors to see you rolling down the sidewalk on a frivolous electric scooter. You want to never have to lift your feet in order to get somewhere ever again.

But you can't have a Segway, because justifying a $5,145 investment in a piece of technology that looks like an idea pulled from The Jetsons' writers' office trash can is near impossible.

Another example: a room made out of candy with a chocolate river like in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It's just not going to happen. "Fat kid getting stuck in a chocolate intake tube" insurance is far too expensive to make this is economically feasible option.

Sometimes, however, fortune smiles upon you -- and just when you've given up hope, the thing you've always wanted is suddenly in your grasp.

As I was driving through Lancaster last weekend, that's what happened to me. It was late and I could feel myself nodding off, when suddenly I passed a Starbucks on my right.

I quickly made the next right -- into a shopping center -- to turn around and head back to get some caffeine in me.

As I pulled up to the traffic light, what happened to be right in front of me? Sonic Drive-In. Screw Starbucks.

I went up to the drive-thru, and an extremely friendly employee took my order: an M&M Sonic blast.

I had a taste, and it was FANTASTIC. Six years of waiting for this moment, and when it came, it was totally worth it.

Plus, unlike at Dairy Queen, the Sonic people even put whipped cream on top.

So don't lose hope -- that Sonic or Segway or candy room with a chocolate river may just be in your future yet.

Travis Larchuk is a senior majoring in journalism and is The Daily Collegian's managing editor of design. His e-mail address is tjl5002@psu.edu